Wood-working machine



(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 1.

E. J. HEULE & D. CAMERON.

WOOD WORKING MACHINE.

No. 438,080. Patented July 29,1890.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

EVERETT J. IIEULE AND DONALD CAMERON, OF MENASHA, VISOONSIN.

WOOD-WORKING MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 433,080, dated July 29,1890.

Application filed March 3, 1890. Serial No. 342,354. (No model.)

To (LZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, EVERETT J. IIEULE and DONALD CAMERON, citizens ofthe United States, residing at Menasha, in the county of WVinnebago' andState of Visconsin, have invented a new and useful Improvement inWVood-lVoi-king Machines, of which the following is a specification.

Our invention relates to an improved ma chine for cutting the stretchersof chairs to a determined uniform length and for forming a circulartenon upon each end thereof; and it consists of an arrangement of one ormore saws, an automatic device for feeding the stretchers to said sawsand to the tenon-formin g mechanism, one for presenting the stretcher toand for firmly holding it while being acted upon by said tenon-formingmechanism, one for advancing and receding the tenon-forming mechanism toand from said stretcher, and also one for the release of said stretcherand for its delivery from the machine.

The machine here illustrated and described, although designed for use inpreparing turned chair-stock, the legs, stretcher-s, and spindles fortheirparticular department,is also adapted for use in fitting otherarticles of a similar nature which are required to be of uniform lengthand their ends to be uniform in size and contour, said ends being likeor unlike, as their intended purpose demands.

The difierent parts of the machine required to be so are madeadjustable, thereby adapting each machine for operation upon articles ofdifferent length and diameter and for the chucks or cutter-headscontaining cutters for fitting chair-stretchers. Other tools maybesubstituted as the work to be done demands, thereby adapting the machinefor fitting a large variety of articles for their particular use.

Figure 1 is a plan view of the machine as it appears inoperation whenpreparingstretchers for entering legs of chairs, the severalcounter-shafts, with the cams and levers operated by them, beingomitted, that the clear- ,ness of view of more essential parts may notbe impaired. Fig. 2 is a vertical and longitudinal section upon the line1 1. of Fig. 1 and including the shafts, &c., named as being omitted inFig. 1. Fig. 3 is a transverse ver tical section upon the line 2 2 ofFig. 1, and 3 3 of Fig. Fig. i is a plan of a part of the lower portionof the frame, showing the arrangem ent of the shafts, pulleys, cams,levers, dues, which give motion to the mechanism here described. Figs.5, 6, 7, S, 9, 10, and ll are detail views.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the severalviews.

The working parts of the machine are supported by a frame-work A, whichmay be of anysuitable construction. A are girts thereof, upon which theoperating-shafts of the machine are journaled; A, a cross-girt,supporting fulcrums of the operating-levers; B, the main driving-shaft;C and D, countershafts; E, the pulley, by which shaft B is driven; F F,pulleys on shaft B, from which the saws and tenon-formin g cuttersaredriven; l), a small pulley on shaft 13, driving the counter-shaft C; cand d, pinion and gear, by which shaft D is driven; G, a saw-arbor; G,saws thereon; H II, shafts, each having two sprocketwheels h h,respectively, secured thereto, said wheels carrying the chains I; J, atrough supporting said chains, the edges of whose sides are slightlyhigher than the chain, whereby the articles carried by the chains arepermitted to slide upon said edges; and I, fingers of thechains, bywhich said articles are carried along.

K K are arbors, each having upon their inner end a cutter-head K,adapted for fitting the chair-stretcher i or other article to beoperated upon; L, a bed-piece having ways L, upon which is fitted toslide the platen M, from which extend arms containing the journal-boxesN, and upon which is also secured the foot of the arms 0, which armshave the jaws 0 0 therein; and P, a shaft, upon which the lower end ofthe jaw-pieces o are secured, and upon which said jaws aresimultaneously raised for grasping the pieces 2'.

Q Q, R R, and S are cams upon shaft D,

which, acting upon their respective levers q q, "r r, and 5, through themedium of their several connecting-rods q q, r r, and s, operate partsas follows: The rods q q, connecting with the shaft P, raise it, andwith it the jaws 0. The rods 0* 1', connecting with heads K. A spring itrests on said piece the journal-boxes N, advance the cutterheads'Ktoward the stretcher i, and the rods 5, connecting with theratchet-wheel device near the end of the shaft 11, imparts anintermittent rotary motion to said shaft.

' U is a bar hung to the gallows NV.

u u are springs or thin pieces of steel secured to the bar U and adaptedin form to bear upon pieces 1' during their passage between the saws andalong upon the chain 1, except at near the axial line of the cutterheadsK, where they are bent into a bow for the purpose of allowing the piecevito be raised and grasped between the jaws 0 0 while being operatedupon by the revolving cutterduring the cutting operation.

The bar U is adjustable in a vertical direction by means of screws w,thereby adapting the space from chain-trough to spring to re ceivearticles varying in diameter.

Fig. 6 gives a view of the rear side of one of the bed-pieces L, theplaten M arranged to slide thereon, the arms 0 and arms surmounted bythe journal-boxes N, Fig. 5,giving a plan view of the outer end of saidparts. The bed-pieces L are secured upon the'side wings a of the frame,and the platen carrying the arms 0 and boxes N adapted for longitudinalmovement upon said bed-pieces by means of the screw m, whereby thecutterheads K and jaws 0 0 of each wing maybe moved nearer to or fartherfrom each other, thereby adapting their location to articles ofdifferent length. The purpose of the jaws 0 0 is to receive the piecesto be operated upon by the cutter-heads K from the chaincarrier andpresent them to said cutter-heads. They are made adjustable in ahorizontal direction and also vertically, so as to present articlescentrally to them, whether of large or small diameter, or those havingone end large and the othersmall, which could not be done if thearticles were operated upon while resting upon the carrier-chains orupon the trough J and against the fingers I.

The jaws 0 are made adjustable horizontally and vertically at rightangles with the axial line of the cutter-heads K by means of the screws0 o" for the purpose of their receiving articles of different diameterand forpresenting said articles to the cutter-heads in a correspondingaxial line. The throw or elevation of the jaws 0 may be made more orless for grasping articles of different diameter in various ways, one ofwhich is shown at the fulcrum q of the lever q, the lower end of saidfulcrum being provided with a threaded portion, which passes through thecross-girt A and is provided with two nutsone below and one above saidgirt whereby said fulcrum may be made higher or lower, and therebyreducing or increasing the extent of the elevation to which said jawsare thrown.

A slight degree of compression may-be applied to the article to be heldbetween the jaws 0 0' for the purpose of securely holding them, and alsofor providing for slight variations in their diameter in any convenientway, one of which is illustrated in Fig. 2, where aspringor awasher q',of india-rubber, is placed above the lower nut upon the threaded portionof the fulcrum.

The shaft P is provided at each end thereof upon the inside of the framewith guides 19 p for preserving the vertical movement of said shaft.

The cutter-heads K are arranged to move automatically toward each other,as before described, by means of the action of the cams R upon the shortarm of the levers *r, their longer arms being connected by the rods '1'with the end journahboxes N, whereby the depression of the short end ofsaid lever slides the shaft K of each wing inward and presents thecutter-heads K to the piece 71 for their action thereon. Thecutter-heads may be withdrawn from action upon the piece i by means ofthe resilient action of the spring 0" upon the lever r or by a weight orspring arranged in any convenient manner.

In Figs. 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11 are shown views of the several partscomprising the ratchet mechanism 'for producing an intermittent movementof the chain 1. A side view of the device is given in Fig. 11. The plateV, a plan of which is shown in Fig. 7, is mounted loosely upon the shaftH near one end thereof, and is retained in the desired adjustmentthereon by means of a bolt or ascrew z, entering the frame A through theslot 2.

Fig. 9 is a top view of the plate'V and shows a slot '0 in its upperend. A dog 1; is

I arranged to slide freely up and down in said slot. Fig. 8 isan edgeview of plate V, showing also dog c'and spring 1;.

In Fig. 10 is seen a plan of a ratchet-wheel X, having siX slots cutinto its circumference at equal distances from each other, and which areadapted to receive the thin front edge of the dog 2). This wheel iskeyed to the shaft H and revolves with it and the sprocketwheels hthereon. The number of the above slots in the wheel X is not essential,except that it be sufficient for the easy Working of the ratchet device,and that it bear a definite distance from each other that a movement of.

one notch of the wheel X will bring each of said fingers at a uniformdistance from a determined point.

The irregular-shaped plate Y is placedloosely upon the shaft H, (acollar H retaining it from longitudinal movement thereon,) and has uponits side adjoining the wheel X a pawl y, adapted to engage with a notchof the wheel, (31 beinga spring bearing against said pawl and aiding itsentrance into a notch,) and to thereby turn the wheel X, and also thesprocketwheels h, as each revolution of the cam S raises the lever s andthe rod 8', which plate V and arranged to act upon the dog 0,

causing its speedy entrance into a notch of said wheel.

In providing for the release of the dog 1' from one of the above notchespreparatory to another movement forward of the chain, a latch 91" ispivoted upon the plate Y in such a position and is of such form that theupward movement of the rod 3 will cause the upper or short end of saidlatch to engage with and release said dog from the notch, while upon therods downward movement, the dog having fallen into the succeeding notch,the short end of said latch is depressed by the dog, permitting it andthe plate Y to return to their natural position preparatory to anotherupward movement of the rod .9. A movement in a circumferential directionis required to be given to the plate Y slightly in excess of thedistance upon the wheel from one notch to another, in order to providefor the action upon the dog 1: of said latch.

The purpose of the adj ustability of the plate V with its dog c is toprovide means for the stoppage of the fingers I of the chains at a pointnearer to or farther from the axial line of the cutter-heads K, therebyadapting the position of the fingers of the chains to receive andpresent to the cutter-heads articles of large or small diameter. This iseffected by raising or lowering the end of the plate containin g theslot .2. Lowering said end carries the dog 0; forward, and raising itcarries it backward, said movements providing means whereby the point atwhich the chain-fingers stop at the end of an intermittent movement maybe varied, thereby adapting the machine for articles of large or smalldiameter and to properly present to the jaws o 0 said articles for theaction thereon of the cutter-heads K. The above adjustment of the plateV demands a corresponding increase or decrease in the length of the rod5, which we provide for by making said rod in two sec tions, providingone section with a right-hand and the other with a left-hand thread, andconnecting said sections with a nut s, having corresponding threads, asshown.

The plate V, with its dog r therein, may be dispensed with, whendesired, in the opertion of the machine in nearly all kinds of material,and the position at which the chainfingers stop be governed by thelengthening or shortening of the rod 3, as the jaws 0 0, being\I-shaped, will receive the pieces from the fingers of the chain-carrierand correctly center them, even if perfect accuracy in their point ofstoppage is not attained.

A roller, as Q R S, is applied to each lever operated upon by a cam forthe purpose of reducing friction upon the surfaces coming in contact.

It is evident that the several cams here named may be so made as todispense with the use of springs or weights for producing the returnmovement of the cutter-heads, the fingers 0 0 and the ratchet mechanismmaking each one a positive movementin both directions, which we deem aswithin the scope of our invention.

The saws, of which one or two maybe used, as the material requires, (oneand a fixed gage being better adapted for cutting up from long stuii',)are adj iistably secured upon the arbors by means of set-screws g intheir collars, or they may be secured in any convenient manner at thepoint required for cutting the length desired. 1

The operation of the mechanism is as follows: The attendant placing astretcher or other article upon the chain-carrier at the front end ofthe machine, it is carried forward by the intermittent movement impartedto it, passing the saws and receiving action therefrom, taken up by thejaws 0 0 and presented to the cutter-heads K K, said heads ad vaneing toand acting thereon. The jaws 0 0 drop the article upon the carrier, whenit is carried forward and another one presented in a like manner,continuing said operation as each finger of the carrier approaches thevertical plane of the cutter-heads, all of said. movements beingautomatic in action and requiring an attendant only for placing thearticles upon the carrier-chain.

Having described our invention, what we claim, and desire to secure byLetters Patent, is

1. The combination, in a wood-working machine, of an endless carrierhaving fingers thereon at equal distances from each other, said carrierhaving a straight channel or trough for its support and guidance, beingarranged to receive and hold a chair-stretcher or other like articlethereon, and said carrier having an intermittent forward movement, oneor more saws, two r'evoluble cutter-heads, jaws for receiving from saidcarrier, holding, and presenting said article to the cutter-heads, andmechanism for advancing said cutterheads to and receding them from saidarticle, and also for releasing the jaws therefrom and returning saidarticle to the carrier, all combined and operating substantially asdescribed.

2. In awood-working machine, the combination, with an endless carrierhaving fingers at equal distances from each other, said carrier having astraight channel or trough for its support and guidance, being arrangedto receive and hold a chair-stretcher or other like article thereon, andsaid carrier having an intermittent forward movement, of thecutter-heads K K, jaws for receiving from said carrier, holding, andpresenting said article to the cutter-heads, and mechanism for advancingsaid cutter-heads to and receding them from said article, and also forreleasing the jaws therefrom and returning said article to the carrier,substantially as described.

3. The combination, in a wood-working machine, of an endless carrierhaving fingers thereon at equal distances from each other, said carrierhaving a straight channel or trough for its support and guidance,beingarranged to receive and hold a chair-stretcher or other likearticle thereon, two revoluble cutter-heads, jaws for receiving fromsaid carrier, holding, and presenting said article to the cutter-heads,and mechanism for advancing said cutter-heads to and for receding themfrom said article, and also for releasing the jaws therefrom andreturning said article to the carrier, a ratchet-wheel mechanism forproducing an intermittent forward movement to the aforesaid carrier,comprising a shaft therefor, the plate V, having the dog'u' thereinmounted on said shaft, and means for securing said plate at variouspoints of circumferential adjustment thereon, the ratchet-Wheel X, theplate Y, pawl y, latch y, and the opcrating-rod 8, said rod beingprovided with means for the increase or decrease of its length,substantially as set forth.

4. In a woodworking machine, the combination of the bed-pieces L L,having ways thereon, the platens M M, movable longitudinally on saidways and having means for their adjustment thereon, said platens eachhaving the journal-boxes N N projecting therefrom, the shafts K, havingthe cutterheads K journaled in said boxes, the arms 0 O, secured uponsaid platens, each arm being provided with a jaw, as 0 0, each jaw 0being adjustable in a horizontal and vertical plane at right angles withthe shafts K, and the jaws 0, movable in a vertical direction one withthe other, substantially as described.

5. A wood-working machine comprising the shafts H H, sprocket-wheels h hh h, carrier-chains I I, having the fingers I I, the springs to u 20,arranged above said chains, one or more saws, as G, cutter-heads K K,jaws 0 0 0' 0', the jaws 0' 0 being provided with means for grasping andholding an article between said jaws and the jaws 0 oand also forreleasing said grasp, a ratchet mechanism for imparting an intermittentforward motion to the carrier-chain, and also mech anism for advancingthe cutter-heads toward and for receding them from each other, allcombined and operating substantially as described.

EVERETT J. HEULE. DONALD CAMERON. Witnesses:

M. M. SCHOETZ, C. W. LLOYD.

